In a statement released on Sunday, Quartz's CEO said that management was buying the company back from Uzabase and charting a new journey. I admire the fight, but it's going to be an uphill battle. Here's some of what I'd change: https://www.amediaoperator.com/p/quartz-going-independent-again-now

1. It needs to be crystal clear on what it's trying to do. It has disparate "obsessions" that don't seem to get equal support (some have a few pieces of content per month). Rather than supporting all these obsessions, kill the ones that are not core.

2. It needs to decide how it gets out of the middle of the barbell. It either invests a lot to try and become big enough to compete with major business media or it needs to go much leaner and get more focused.

3. It shouldn't run away from the advertising business. If the focus is on "the good business can do in society," then target those budgets at major corporations. They're looking to spend; Quartz could bring in strong ad partners here.

4. Building on that "the good business can do in society" narrative, Quartz should try to sell group subs to corporate libraries. With corporations trying to offer more perks to employees, this would add many more subscribers with a stickier biz dev deal.

Being in the middle of the barbell is rough. Burning millions of dollars a year is also rough. Quartz needs to focus and be crystal clear on what it's trying to do. Without that focus, it'll continue to struggle. https://www.amediaoperator.com/p/quartz-going-independent-again-now